AR: Texarkana, Arkansas, authorizes collection of fees from out-of-state sex offenders

Source: texarkanagazette.com 7/29/25 Any sex offenders from outside Arkansas moving to or working in the city will be charged a total fee of $500. Monday, July 21, the Arkansas Board of Directors discussed and approved an ordinance authorizing the city to collect fees for any sex offenders who are out-of-state registrants or out-of-state workers. There will be two separate fees of $250. One will be the required fee when registering with the Texarkana Arkansas Police Department, and the other will be for the required DNA sample. The registration and DNA…

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SC: Ex-Richland County deputy accused of stealing money from sex offenders

Source: wistv.com 7/28/25 A former deputy with the Richland County Sheriff’s Department was arrested after allegedly stealing money from sex offenders. RCSD said 31-year-old Jessica Way was arrested Monday and charged with petit larceny. The department said the charge was linked to an internal audit from July 16 that showed a $410 cash discrepancy from the sex offender registry receipts. The audit information was then given to the sheriff’s department’s criminal investigations division to open a case. According to authorities, the investigation found Way allegedly stole money from sex offenders…

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How Parenting Changed After Etan Patz [fear of everything]

Source: nytimes.com 7/28/25 It was 1979, and Nils Johnson-Shelton had a lot in common with a classmate named Etan Patz. Both were 6-year-old boys with bowl cuts, the sons of artists living in lofts in SoHo. They rode the same bus to the same elementary school, where they both attended first grade. On the morning of May 25 that year, Etan went missing and was never found. His disappearance not only shocked New York City; it was later credited as the event that forever altered parenting, a word that had…

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Former Moderator Sues Chaturbate for ‘Psychological Trauma’

Source: courtwatch.news 7/27/25 “Without these safeguards, Mr. Barber eventually developed full-blown PTSD, which he is currently still being treated for,” the former mod’s lawyer said.  A former content moderator for Chaturbate is suing the live-streaming porn platform for psychological trauma he claims he suffered after being exposed to “extreme, violent, graphic, and sexually explicit content” every day without industry-standard safeguards, according to a new lawsuit. Neal Barber, who was hired by Bayside Support Services and Multi Media LLC—the parent company of Chaturbate—in 2020, filed a lawsuit on July 22 claiming…

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Action Alert: Urge Congress to support the Reentry Act (helps registrants)

Source: Prison Fellowship, FAC [Summary below is from FAC] Florida Action Committee (FAC) members and affiliates, that are also members and advocates of Prison Fellowship, have asked FAC to share this ACTION REQUEST to HELP REMOVE BARRIERS TO HEALTH CARE by urging Congress to support the Re-Entry Act. Being released from prison is an overwhelming experience. Men and women who have endured the harsh realities of incarceration are suddenly thrust back into society and must find a job, along with a place to live. But there’s one necessity that’s often overlooked in their reintegration journey: health…

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Iowa Ignores Civil Commitment Concerns

Source: yahoo.com 7/27/25 Two years have passed since families and advocates of incarcerated individuals demanded to know why prison sentences were being bureaucratically prolonged. Two years have passed since they demanded to know why non-violent sex offenders who cleared treatment are being referred for civil commitment. Two years have passed since they demanded to know why the Attorney General’s Office seemingly drags its feet when reviewing referrals.  Despite making very little progress — though not through lack of trying — the supporters remain committed to attending every single Iowa Board…

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CA: SF Judge to Continue Case Despite Claims of Mental Incapacity

Source: davisvanguard.org 7/26/25 San Francisco – On July 23, 2025, in Department 17 of the San Francisco Hall of Justice, Deputy Public Defender Maria Avalo Cruz argued that her client’s intellectual disabilities rendered him incapable of navigating the digital world, and thus he lacked the intent to possess child pornography—grounds, she said, for dismissing the charges. Cruz asked Judge Brian J. Stretch to grant a motion to dismiss the case, contending that her client’s cognitive limitations made it impossible for him to intentionally obtain or store illicit content. Deputy District…

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Trump’s Executive Order Confirms the Registry Machine Isn’t Going Anywhere

Source: substack.com 7/26/25 For anyone holding out hope that a second Trump administration might bring meaningful change to the nation’s sex offense policies, the July 24, 2025 executive order should clear up any confusion: the registry is here to stay—and it’s growing teeth. President Donald J. Trump has made it unmistakably clear that he supports the continued enforcement, expansion, and surveillance of the sex offender registry. This isn’t a course correction or a fresh approach. It’s a doubling down. The executive order, issued under the guise of addressing homelessness, public safety, and…

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RAA needs volunteers to submit art or writing to “Many Truths” project

Source: restorativeactionalliance.org [Note from Janice: Please consider being a part of this] Restorative Action Alliance is excited to introduce Many Truths: Breaking Down False Dichotomies, a unique creative expression program designed to empower people affected by cycles of harm and the criminal legal system. This initiative invites crime survivors, family members, and system-impacted people to share their experiences and creativity, fostering healing and community connection. We invite submissions of original visual art, photography, poetry, or short stories (no more than 500 words) for inclusion in a curated collection and online gallery. …

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Ninth Circuit upholds nationwide block of Trump birthright citizenship order (lower courts shouldn’t issue blanket blocks)

Source: courthousenews.com 7/23/25 The panel found a nationwide injunction of the executive order doesn’t run afoul of a recent Supreme Court decision that lower courts shouldn’t issue blanket blocks on the president’s orders.   A Ninth Circuit panel on Wednesday upheld a federal judge’s nationwide preliminary injunction of President Donald Trump’s Day 1 executive order that denied citizenship to children who are born in the U.S. but whose parents are unlawfully or only temporarily in the country. In a split decision, the panel found the four states that brought the lawsuit…

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TN: Woman Removed From Sex Registry Banned from Speaking About Case

Source: tba.org 7/21/25 The state of Tennessee agreed to permanently remove a woman from the sex offender registry months after a judge found she had been “falsely labeled as a sex offender.” But state officials included a stipulation in the agreement forbidding her and her attorneys from discussing the agreement and her lawsuit with the media, The Tennessean reports. They also are barred from speaking to lawyers involved in “sex offender litigation.” That limitation could be unconstitutional, according to a First Amendment lawyer. The woman, who is not named, was…

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UK: The Age-Checked Internet Has Arrived

Source: wired.com 7/25/25 Starting today, UK adults will have to prove their age to access porn online. Experts warn that a global wave of age-check laws threatens to chill speech and ultimately harm children and adults alike.   Beginning today, millions of adults trying to access pornography in the United Kingdom will be required to prove that they are over the age of 18. Under sweeping new online child safety laws coming into force, self-reporting checkboxes that allow anyone to claim adulthood on porn websites will be replaced by age-estimating face scans, ID…

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WA: Mandatory reporting law includes conversations from confession if child abuse is suspected

Source: abajournal.com 7/21/25 Mandatory reporting laws are considered important tools in the fight against child abuse and neglect, according to a court filing by the Washington state attorney general’s office. (Image from Shutterstock) Is a new Washington state law, which requires priests to report suspected child abuse or neglect, including information from confessions, an assault on the Catholic Church and thousands of years of religious doctrine and practice? That’s what the U.S. Justice Department says, asserting that it won’t sit “idly by when states mount attacks on the free exercise…

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NY: Woodstock Town Board votes to fire employee found to be sex offender in explosive meeting

Source: wamc.org 7/23/25 There’s turmoil on the Woodstock Town Board as lawmakers grapple with how to handle the town’s hiring of a Level 3 sex offender earlier this year. In an explosive meeting that put Supervisor Bill McKenna on the defensive, members of the board voted to fire the employee Tuesday night. A warning to listeners that this story discusses sexual assault. Members of the Town Board say McKenna didn’t tell them that 31-year-old Michael Innello was a Level 3 sex offender when they voted to hire him for a…

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The BBC’s Unforgivable asks if we can ever forgive a child sex offender

Source: bbc.com 7/22/25 Writer Jimmy McGovern discusses his new drama set and filmed in Liverpool. Unforgivable, an original drama from multi-award-winning screenwriter Jimmy McGovern (Time, Cracker, The Street) centres around the Mitchell family who are dealing with the devastating aftermath of an act of abuse perpetrated by a member of their own family. The drama examines the extensive ripple effect of abuse from multiple perspectives and how those involved can try to move forwards in the midst of the devastation. Why is Unforgivable a story you wanted to tell? I received a letter…

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U.K. primary school teacher banned after failing to declare relationship with child sex offender

Source: manchesterworld.uk 7/23/25 A primary school teacher has been banned from the classroom for two years after failing to declare her relationship with a sex offender. Leanne ___, 36, has been found guilty of unacceptable professional conduct at a hearing of the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA). Miss Leanne was a Year 1 teacher at Lark Hill Community Primary School in Salford between 2019 and 2021, when she failed to disclose to the school that she was or had been in a relationship with Person A, who had convictions for child…

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B.R.A.V.E. San Quentin CA program provides safe space to discuss shame and trauma

Source: sanquentinnews.com 6/28/25 A new 26-week self-help program has been established at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, designed to help those convicted of a sex offense to understand why they committed the crime. The program’s name, B.R.A.V.E., stands for Bridging, Responsibility, Accountability and Vulnerability through Empathy. It began in January 2025 with 38 participants in attendance, which included volunteers and administrative and medical officials. The program gives participants a safe place to understand the trauma they have caused without fear and stigma. This environment will encourage participants to freely discuss the…

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The Registry Paradox: Why Ending Sex Offense Registries Could Make Us Safer

Source: Nebraskans Unafraid 7/22/25 For decades, sex offense registries have stood as a seemingly unshakeable pillar of public safety. The logic is intuitive: track people convicted of certain offenses, make their presence known, and communities will be safer. Yet, a growing body of research suggests that this widely accepted strategy is not only largely ineffective in preventing new crimes but may, in fact, be counterproductive, creating a false sense of security while imposing immense, often debilitating, burdens on individuals.  It’s time to critically examine whether these registries truly serve their intended…

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